Baltimore County Council Votes To Endorse a State-Wide Fracking Ban

County Council approves resolution to support a state-wide ban in Maryland and to ban fracking within Baltimore County if the moratorium is allowed to expire

Towson MD. – Baltimore County voted 6 to 1 to approve a measure supporting a state-wide ban on hydraulic-fracturing.

More than a dozen localities in Maryland have now approved or introduced measures to either ban fracking locally or to endorse a permanent, statewide ban. The list includes the western Maryland towns of Friendsville and Mountain Lake Park, the counties of Prince George’s, Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and Frederick, and the cities of Baltimore, Rockville, and Greenbelt.

Baltimore County Council Chair Vicki Almond stated, “Given the ever growing scientific evidence that fracking is harmful to land, water and people, we must continue to ban this practice in Baltimore County and throughout the State of Maryland.”Polling shows that, by a 2-to-1 margin, voters across Maryland support statewide legislation to ban fracking. Unless the General Assembly passes a permanent, statewide ban next year, Governor Larry Hogan’s administration could allow fracking to begin after October 2017, when the state’s moratorium will expire.“A groundswell of support is building across Maryland to ban fracking,” said Brooke Harper, Maryland Field Director at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “In 2017, it’s time for the General Assembly to follow the lead of western Maryland citizens and cities like Frostburg and pass a permanent, statewide ban.”